Life in the Shadows
by Doggett
Summary: Sequel to "Made of Stone". Just as an old friend of the Titans returns, events are set in motion that will seal the fate of the world. BBxTerra. UPDATE: Chapter 4 up. Sorry it's late.
1. Welcome Home

"The only reason for your existence, Terra, is suffering"  
- Slade

A girl runs through the desert.

She is being chased by a man she used to know, but never thought she would see again. A man who controlled her; corrupted her. A man who forced her to get away and find herself.

She knows that she can not go on for much longer. This man has been chasing her for forty-eight miles. She is exhausted. Her clothes are drenched in sweat; it drips off her skin, like she has been in the rain. However, it is not raining; it is a sunny August afternoon. In the distance, she can see Jump City. Her salvation.

Behind her, she hears an engine being pushed. Gunfire. The man is shooting at her. She dodges and somersaults forward, bullets narrowly missing her head. She's getting dizzy now, knowing that she could collapse at any moment. She had run out of food four days previous. Her blood sugar is dangerously low; she had checked it herself earlier in the day. She feels faint, but sees the city in the distance. On the outskirts, a tower. A tower where she was accustomed to staying in. The tower is her only hope. The tower is her home.

There are others at the tower, as well. Others who want to help. She knew all their names, yet referred to them as their aliases, not only to keep their identities out of the public's eye, but in a sense of camaraderie.

There is one she loved there. The curious green-skinned shapeshifter. Everyone affectionately calls him "Beast Boy", but his real name is Garfield Logan. He had lost his parents. He had lost this girl, but she had been revived.

He has not seen her for five months. Five long, painful months where the only communication they had was over a communicator. She left this place five months ago, because she needed to get away. She did get away - to Gotham City, across the country. While there, she had undergone intense medical care and several psychiatric evaluations. Her body and mind alike were weak and frail when she left, and it was all because of this man chasing her.

She thought she had destroyed this man. She thought she had destroyed this man when she buried him in an avalanche of rocks five months ago.

This girl is not normal. She controls the earth. She is a geomancer, if you will. She knows this, running fast as she can, trying to get to the tower desperately before she is shot by the man chasing her.

She is on foot, and the man chasing her is in a jeep. She knows that he could easily catch up to her if he wanted to, yet he does not. To her, all of it is mind games.

Mind games he played before that left her doubting her sanity. This man had left her crippled, both emotionally and physically. She swore revenge, and she thought she had it.

There was a time ago when she served this man. When he had manipulated her; made her see things from the other side. A fantasy, if you will. A harsh, dark fantasy. She had managed to survive, but not without paying a price: she had fallen into a coma, entombed in a stone statue for four months. She was alive, and even before, she thought he was not. She thought she had destroyed him then, too; not often does one survive a fall into lava. However, he came back. He came back to torture and torment her.

The others had helped her survive. The others. She had heard that there were more of them now. Four new members. She knew about Robin - Timothy Drake, martial-arts master trained by Batman. Starfire - Koriand'r, princess of the planet Tameran. Cyborg - Victor Stone, a promising athlete whom, after a tragic freak accident, was rebuilt into a half-human, half-machine hybrid. Raven, the one most like her - the daughter of the demonic Trigon. She did not know the identities of the new members.

She had hoped tomorrow would have been a joyous occasion; when she had finally returned home, feeling better than ever before.

She gasps for breath. She begins thinking that she is not going to make it. The world is spinning around her, but she can still see the tower; a beacon of hope in the darkness. A bullet misses her head by inches, bringing her back to reality. It's only another mile. She feels the need to remind herself of why she has to get there. Something painfully clips her in the side. Has she been shot? She does not know. The adrenaline numbs the pain.

These are all people she used to know. The man chasing her knows this. He also knows what incredible, untapped power she possesses. He used her as his puppet, and he has been craving her power ever since. He knew that she was going to return. He made sure to be waiting for her, because he wants to capture and destroy her. She is only human; he knows she can not take much more. Her appearance has changed slightly, but he knows that it is still her; her cold blue eyes, soft and frightened as she looks over her shoulder at him, verifies the fact. He knows that his chance to take her gets slimmer with every passing moment.

Half a mile now. Her clothing sticks to her skin. A small gust of wind blows her hair out of her face. Her vision begins to fade. She is so close, yet she thinks - no, knows - that she will not make it. This saddens her. Her legs give out from under her. She falls forward, and struggles to get back up. The ground is so warm. She hears the engine of the jeep stop. Footsteps. Defiantly, she tries to crawl forward, but she is too weak to move. She struggles to keep her eyes open. So close. The back of her throat stings; she feels as if her lungs are on fire. The man steps on her throat. It's getting hard for her to breathe. She thinks she is going to die. Her head pounds.

Suddenly, an explosion. The jeep has gone up in flames. The man falls to the side, arms flailing wildly. A green bear charges the man. She gasps for air, and realizes the futility. She passes out. Explosions occur around the man, and he is driven back. The man disappears in a display of fire. The bear shifts into another form, this one more human. This new form walks over to her, passed out and laying on the warm ground in the hot sun. Sweat drips down her cheeks and off her hair. The form feels conflicted. It feels great joy for seeing her, but deep regret that she had to re-enter its life under these circumstances. She has a pained look on her face, trying to run from her nightmares. The form scoops her up in its arms, and it and the rest - the nine of them - walk back to the tower.

She wakes up, startled. She slowly looks around. She seems to be in familiar surroundings, but she can not determine where. Her head is still burning. She squints to try and reduce some of the pain. She remembers her side, and looks. A blood-stained bandage. Her head is throbbing now. She tries to get up, but she can't. She pulls back the blankets and tries her hardest to sit, but she finds that she cannot. She begins to panic. She is scared. She thinks she sees a flash of fire in the corner, but then it is gone. She begins to feel sick. She clutches her stomach. She tries to shout, but no sound comes out. The room suddenly lights on fire. She tries to scream, but again, no sound comes out. She knows she's going to die.

She wakes up, sweaty and panicking. It was just a dream, she tells herself. She reaches down to feel her side. To her horror, the same bandage that was in her dream is there. A wave of fear washes over her. She checks over her body for burn marks, but there are none. There is something, though. A rash, running down the small of her back. Sunlight streams through the window, warming her feet. She tries to move, and much to her relief, she is able to. She walks to the bathroom, wondering where everyone is. She takes off her clothing and gets in the shower, turning the water on as she does so. She places her head against the cold tile; she's now experiencing a numbing sensation. She washes and dries herself off. She's in the only place in the tower without monitoring equipment; isolated and alone. She walks back to her room and changes, selecting some of the new clothing she had bought herself in Gotham: a short pair of blue jeans (although, in this heat, she'd be crazy to wear them), and a pink white-striped tee-shirt that reveals the lower part of her midriff. She looks around her room. She knows it is her room, remembering. So much pain had taken place here, and now that the man was back, she'd have to be careful. The only thing that bothered her was questioning if the man really left to begin with. She walks out to the main room. So many memories. She looks around; no note or anything. She supposes they were not expecting her to awaken. This does not surprise her.

She moves over to the refrigerator, looking for something to eat. She subconcsiouly scratches her arm, and notices there is a red liquid on her fingernails: blood. She looks at her arm, covered in blood, dripping it. Is it her blood? She does not know, but she does not feel weaker. The blood somehow shifts down her arm, towards her hand. She is frightened, but has to remind herself to stay calm and focused. The mind games the man played before taught her to do that. She turns around to try and find something to clean up, and stops. The water outside has turned to lava; the city destroyed. She feels compelled to scream, but does not.

"You shouldn't have come back."

She looks around, startled. A black aura envelops the room, and someone stands before her. Someone she used to know.

"Raven?" She asks. The figure nods. She notices a change in Raven; a miniscule change, but a change nonetheless. Raven has grown her hair down. "What is this? Where are the others!" She feels herself begin to slip into fear.

"They're all safe, in the real world. This is just a vision." Raven replies, calmly. "None of this is real. Calm down, and I'll explain." She tries her best to calm herself down. The blood on her arm seeps into her skin, which frightens her, but she forces herself to stay calm. "Trigon, my father, is trying to take over the world. He tried to use me to help him, but I resisted. I'm afraid that now, he's come after you." She merely stares at Raven, wide-eyed in horror. "This is all in your head. The others are trying to bring you back." She doesn't understand this.

"If this is in my mind, why are you here?" Raven smirks at the question.

"Let's just say I've learned a few new tricks since you've been away. We all have." She closes her eyes, and opens them again. She's still there, but Raven is gone. She suddenly begins to feel very weak. She recognizes this as the attempt to bring her back to reality. She slips into unconsciousness.

"She's waking up." She opens her eyes. Everything is a blur, but her vision adjusts. There are three people looming over her: Raven, and two others she recognizes. Robin and Cyborg. Tim and Vic. Her friends.

"So, how are you feeling?" Cyborg asks, concernedly. Robin hands her an ice pack, which she holds against her head.

"What happened?" She asks, confusedly. "Here, I mean. Rae made everything else clear." She glances at Raven, who nods.

"You wore yourself out. You know you shouldn't have overexerted yourself so soon after surgery, especially heart surgery. Never go that long again without eating, too. You almost died."

"Wouldn't be the first time." She replies, which gets a chuckle from everyone in the room.

"Oh, one more thing." Cyborg adds. "I raised your glucose levels back to their normal limit. You should be glad we found you when we did."

""I am." She replies, somberly. She was going to add the part about the man chasing her, but they already knew it. "Rae and I need to talk."

"Of course." Robin responds, suspiciously. He and Cyborg leave the room, leaving her and Raven.

"I like what you've done with your hair." Raven blushes.

"Thanks. So, what do we need to talk about?"

"Rae, you're the one who's most like me. That makes you understand me more than anyone else. Well, except maybe Gar. Before you woke me up out of that vision, I woke up out of another dream. It just makes no sense."

"You're feeling stressed and insecure, and also disappointed that your return didn't go the way you planned. Show me your arm."

"Why?"

"I need to see something." She complies, holding out her arm - the arm that was soaked with blood in her vision - to Raven. Raven gasps.

"What's wrong?" Raven shows her what she gasped at: a small, red mark located on her vein.

"Do you have any other physical marks?"

"I have a rash on my back."

"When did you notice?"

"In a dream."

"Let me see it." She lifts her shirt up a bit. She feels Raven's cold hands on her back. "It's not important. It'll go away. What was your first dream about?"

"I was... in my room. I couldn't move my legs. The room lit on fire."

"You've been marked."

"Marked?"

"I need you to, from now on, not show any fear or anger. The stakes are too high. Besides, you and I are of a kind: we have tremendous power, but don't fully understand how to use it yet. When's your birthday?"

"Um... next week"

"How old will you be?"

"Fifteen." Raven sighed. Whether it was of sadness or relief, she couldn't tell. Raven began to walk towards the door.

"Come on. I know Gar wants to see you, but... just one other thing. No one else can know about this, and any physical changes you make to yourself when you dream will be evident in reality. If you start to feel dizzy or tired in any way, come see me. We'll need to rely on each other for what's coming up."

"Wait, you mean... I was actually bleeding? She asks. Raven nods, and walks out of the room. She follows, close behind. The two walk out to the main room, where everyone is waiting. She's able to scope out the four new members: two males, two females. There is one there, though, who has missed her for longer than she can imagine, and she has missed him, as well. There is another she used to know, too. Starfire.

"Oh, friend, it is good to see that you have returned!" Starfire exclaims, entrapping her in a loving embrace.

"Good to see you too, Kory." She replies. "So, what did I miss while I was away?"

"Vic was able to put away Brother Blood." The younger male, sitting down on the couch, says. In the next second, he's standing beside her. He extends a hand. "I'm Bart Allen. Kid Flash." She shakes his hand enthusiastically. "That, over there," - Kid Flash points to a female, looking not much older than she herself - "is Cassie Sandsmark. Wonder Girl." Kid Flash speeds over to where the other two are sitting. "These two are Kara Zor-El and Kon-El, or, if you prefer, Kara and Conner. Supergirl and Superboy, respectively."

"Good to see you've expanded the roster a bit, Tim," she mentions, "but what about the Titans East?"

"Are you kidding me?" Cyborg asks, laughing. "Speedy and Bumblebee are always busy. Busier than us. There's been a crime spike in Steel City." She's beginning to feel anxious. She feels a pulling at the back of her mind, and looks over at Raven. Raven's eyes are locked onto her, and they make her feel eerily calm. Her slowing heartbeat becomes audiable, but no one else seems to notice. It slows... and slows... and stops. She shuts her eyes, bracing herself, but she feels something touch her shoulder. She opens her eyes to see Raven standing beside her, looking concerned.

"As long as you are in this tower, you are safe. I'll help you keep your emotions in check. Nothing bad will happen, alright?" She nods. "I'll try to make sure nothing physically bad happens to you, either, but if it does, expect myself and Vic to help you." She understands this, and nods again.

"This is worse than what happened with... him before, isn't it?" She asks. Raven looks at her feet.

"Yes. I sense no change in your mind. What did they tell you about it?"

"Nothing. They said I was fine. No drugs, no explaination."

"That makes no sense. You're not fine."

"I'm as confused as you are."

"What did they do there?"

"They kept me trapped six days of the week, drugged and under constant observation. I think they were trying to steal my powers, and I think they succeeded."

"You can't just take powers away."

"I can't use mine anymore. I haven't been able to since my heart surgery. It makes no sense." She senses someone approaching. It's the one she loves. He extends his arms, and they embrace.

"Gar!" She exclaims.

"Welcome home," Beast Boy replies, enthusiastically, "Terra."


	2. Beginning of the End

Terra wakes up. It is dark everywhere, and the only sound audible to her is the slow, mechanical whirring of the newly-installed ceiling fan. She lifts her head off the pillow in order to check the time. It is 6:06. Terra thinks that it will be daylight pretty soon, so she had best get out of bed. Monday morning. Something stings her arm, and she clutches it. She removes her hand to take a look, and finds nothing wrong with it. Nothing visible now, at least. She had gone to sleep at 11:30, when everyone else was heading to their respective rooms. Everyone but Raven. Terra wonders if Raven had actually gone to sleep. Well, Terra hadn't actually fallen asleep right away; it was 1:06 before she was able to drift into unconsciousness, she reminds herself. She leaves her room and walks to the living room. She finds Raven sitting on the couch, staring at nothing. "Rae?" Terra asks, curiously. Raven turns around, and Terra sees the earphones from under Raven's hair. "What'cha listening to?"

"Coldplay." Raven responds, despondantly. "Did you wake up at six after six?" Terra nods. "Get used to it."

"Why?" Terra asks, shivering. She wonders where her slippers are.

"Because it will happen every day. You're marked, Tara, and that will force some... unique things to happen to you."

"So you said yesterday. Did it just get cold in here?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah, it's cold in here."

"I'm freezing." Terra says, rubbing her arm.

"You'll get used to it."

"Another side-effect, eh?"

"Yeah. It's like a drop in your blood temperature or something. Why do you keep rubbing your arm?"

"I woke up and it just started stinging."

"Let me see it." Terra gives Raven her arm. Raven turns it over, and sighs. "I do not like the looks of this."

"Why?" Terra asks. "What's wrong?" Raven doesn't respond. "Rae?" Terra touches Raven's shoulder, and instantly begins to shiver. Terra feels colder than she had ever before. She thinks she is going to freeze to death. She collapses beside Raven on the couch. It's so cold, she tells herself. So cold. "R-Raven, what's... what's g-going on?". Her body is numb, and she is feeling more afraid by the second. Raven suddenly looks over at Terra.  
"Stop being afraid, Tara!" She yells. She drapes the blanket she was wrapped in over Terra's shoulders. Terra's body is bright red now, and Raven doesn't know what to do. She does know that she has to warm Terra up before she succumbs to hypothermia, but she does not know how. Terra's pupils roll up into her head, and she stops shivering. Her arms drop limply to her sides.

"Oh God, oh God." Raven tries to calm herself down. She knows that she will not be able to revive - or, if need be, resurrect - Terra if she cannot focus. Time begins to slow, and then stops. Now, Raven truly notices what is happening to Terra. Her skin is no longer red, only pale. Very pale, in fact. Raven can see the blue of her veins through her skin. Raven shudders. Though, didn't the same thing happen to her before? Raven remembers it vividly. The fear, the agony. The stench of death had loomed over her, and there was only one person... no, creature to blame. Slade. No longer human in so many ways. Raven forces herself to focus on the present. She tries to remember what the others had done to revive her, but she is at a loss. She touches Terra's arm. It feels cold to the touch. Raven wishes she were wearing a sweater or... something, anything, but she's only wearing a black tank-top and shorts. Raven brings Terra into the current state of time. She touches her chest, where a faint heartbeat fails to catch her attention. "Come on, Raven, think. Think..." It dawns on her. She unfreezes time. She reaches inside Terra's shirt, and withdraws her hand. Blood. She focuses on Terra.

Now, she is falling. She unleashes her soul-self and floats gently to the ground. It looks to be an absolutely horrid place; wind swirls dust along the only visible path, crowded with large pieces of broken stone. A pool of magma surrounds. She hears a scream, and instantly recognizes the voice to be that of Terra. She remembers when Slade unleashed all of Terra's memories from the wall she had built up around them; the terrible memories of betrayal and rage that she never wanted to know again. Raven starts along the path, squinting to make out what's ahead through the dust. She sees a figure lying on the ground, hair blowing in the wind, covering her face. The figure is on her hands and knees, blood flowing freely to the ground, dying it red.  
"Tara!" Raven screams. The figure looks over, face gashed, with a solidary tear running down her cheek, and collapses. Raven runs to the figure, and embraces her tightly. She concentrates, and then she is back in the tower. Terra's skin is still pale, yet only slighty; just as Raven's own skin is. At twelve after six on one August Monday, Terra is slumped on the couch in a pool of her own blood.

Terra wakes up, and feels compelled to scream. Her head throbs. She looks over at the clock; eight after ten. Did all that actually happen, or was it just a vision? Terra remembers that it doesn't matter one way or the other; her body would still have the physical scars. She finds herself wearing different clothing than her sleeping attire, which further validates her theory that it wasn't a dream. Her clothes would have been bloody, and Raven... Raven would have cleaned her up, changed her clothes and put her back in her bed. She finds herself wearing black jeans and a blue baby tee-shirt, exposing the gauze that now wraps her abdomen. Her arms are also covered in gauze, she now notices, pulling them out from under the blankets. She wonders if Beast Boy would ask about her wounds. She wonders how deep the lacerations are, then experiences relief as she notices a piece of paper with some writing scrawled on it on the bedside table. She grabs it (surprisingly, without any sudden pain) and reads it. A sense of relief washes over her. In the note, Raven informs her that the events were real. She goes on to mention that herself and the other Titans have gone out to run a few errands, groceries and the like. Raven writes that they're bringing back lunch. Terra puts the note back on the table, and looks once more at the time. She realizes that she is exhausted. She takes off her jeans (which, admittedly, were not very comfortable sleeping attire), replaces them with a pair of pink shorts, lies back down, curls up, and falls asleep.

"Tara. Tara, wake up..." Beast Boy nudges Terra's shoulder, and is met with a moan. Terra's eyes slowly open, and she is met with the face of her love.

"Gar..." Terra says, reaching up to touch his face.

"This is the part where you start to feel better." Beast Boy replies, smiling. "Lunch is here, if you want it."

"Kay." Terra answers, yawning. It was a rough morning, and though she still feels exhausted, she forces herself to wake up. "I'll be out in a minute."  
Beast Boy nods and leaves, but he's held back by one question."What really happened while I was gone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Rae told me..."

"Tara, we can talk about that later. Just... not now, alright? You don't need to worry."

"We'll talk later."

"Tara, I might be able to help you regain your powers." Raven calmly motions to the floor. Terra sits. "Though if this works and you regain the use of them, you must understand that it will make you more dangerous than ever before, and Trigon will want you more than he does now."

"I understand." Terra replies, sighing. "I feel so useless without them. So angry and...", Terra searches for the right word to use, and finally settles on one that has haunted her, "depressed. Everything's fucked up all over again. I can swear now, can't I?" Raven nods.

"Swear your heart out. It won't make a difference." Raven responds, rubbing her wrist. Terra wonders what had happened before, the thought just now coming back into her mind, though no one could blame her: she was home.

"Rae, Gar seemed a little... decisive when telling me about what happened when I was gone. I just want to know what was so serious or important." Raven sighs.

"That was a long time ago. Well, metaphorically. In real time, it's only been two months. When Trigon first came into the world, he spread - and fed off of - fear and anger. He almost destroyed us all by having us at each others throats. Those were some bad times, and there are bad memories to accompany them. You know how that is." Terra nods. She remembers the things she had shut away, and shudders. Even now, nine months later, they upset her stomach. "So, we all went into individual therapy, because there are things that happened that none of us want to talk about. We were all traumatized. You're better off just not asking. Now, Tara, I need you to concentrate. Look at me." Terra stares into Raven's eyes, and her mind goes blank. Her consciousness is gone, but she still sits erect, staring into Raven's eyes. Raven unleashes her soul-self, whose wings envelop both females sitting on the floor. There is darkness, but Raven knows what she is doing. She pushes herself on and on, and then, once completely satisfied with what she has done, she, too, drifts into unconsciousness. Terra suddenly awakens and begins to panic. Her heart pounds in her chest like a jackhammer, beating faster and faster. She feels afraid, afraid of death. She feels as if she is about to have a heart attack, but then, silence. Terra's breathing slows, and she feels fine once more. She sees Raven lying unconscious on the floor, and realizes the futility of trying to revive her. She takes a deep breath.

"All right, Tara. Do or die time." She tells herself, and concentrates on the far wall. Her hands begin to glow and pulsate with a yellow aura, and she smiles and laughs at the prospect. She runs out of the room and into Beast Boy's, where she jumps at him and he barely catches her.

"Why are you so... happy, Tara?" Beast Boy asks, smiling and thinking that it's hard to resist Terra's enthusiasm.

"I got my powers back!" Terra yells, excitedly. To demonstrate, she concentrates on the wall of his room and her hands are enveloped in a yellow aura once more. "Though I can't go to sleep, or my delta waves might..."

"Might what?" Beast Boy asks, confusedly. "Tara, what are you talking about?"

"I... don't know." Terra responds, unsure. "Gar, I think it's about time I told you something. It's not something I'm particularily proud of, but I think you should know, and, please, don't tell the others."

"Tara, you can trust me with anything." Terra nods, and takes a deep breath.

"While I was away, I took some-" The door opens, and Raven walks through.

"So," she asks with a grin, "how do they work?"

"They're great. Thanks, Rae."

"Raven, Tara was just about to tell me something, so would you mind, um... leaving?" Beast Boy asks. Raven nods her head.

"I already know. It's all out of your system now, Tara." Terra nods, and Raven leaves. Terra stares into Beast Boy's eyes; she knows that there is a nervous look on her face, but she does not care.

"You took some what? Tara, what did you take?"

"I took some... heroin. You have every reason to be disappointed in me."

"I'm not going to judge you on what you do or did. The reason I love you is because you are who you are." Beast Boy wrapped his hands around Terra's, who was now looking down at the floor in grief. She closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath. She looks back up, opening her eyes, and Beast Boy is no longer sitting beside her; she is standing on a small rock formation, surrounded by lava.

"Rae! I need your help!" Terra cries, but there is no answer.

"Tara?" Beast Boy asks, concernedly. Terra hasn't lifted her head up to see him. In one fluid motion, Terra holds a sharp rock at Beast Boy's throat. "Tara, what the hell are you doing?" Beast Boy asks, frightened. Terra opens her eyes, and Beast Boy sees the one thing he wished he would never had to see as long as he lived. Blood flows down Terra's face, staining her hair, and her irises are crimson red. "Trigon!" Beast Boy yells, bringing everyone within the sound of his voice - Raven, Supergirl and Kid Flash - to his room. Terra's body begins to pulsate with yellow energy, which quickly turns red.

"He's killing her." Raven observes. "From the inside out."


	3. The Ghost of You

"Shit, what are we going to do?" Beast Boy asks, beginning to panic. He thinks that anyone would panic in this situation; the person that someone loves is holding the earthen equivalent of a knife to their throat while a demon destroys them from the inside. Beast Boy feels compassion for Terra; after all, had what she had wanted for so long just been taken away in a few short seconds? He looks into the eyes of his now corrupted lover; curiously enough, he thinks he can see flashes of the soft blue of her eyes through the red mask that the demon has given her. Not just the colour of her eyes, though; her humanity. "Raven, wait. Before you do anything. I think she's trying to fight it." He felt the grip she held on his neck loosen slightly.

"Even if she does break free, we're still talking serious damage here, Gar." Raven replies, calmly. "Damage to her, biologically and psychologically. It's nothing she won't be able to handle. She's been through worse." Now, Beast Boy realizes that she has been through worse. She was a puppet. Beast Boy looks over at the clock; ten after nine. Nothing odd about that.

"She can fight it, but she'll fail..." Beast Boy remembers, trailing off. "She's not strong enough..."

"She kicked Slade's ass. Seems pretty strong to me." Kid Flash interjects, concernedly, but obviously not grasping the severity of the situation.

"If anyone's going to do anything, they'd better do it now." Supergirl suggests. "Her heart is beating erratically, she's not breathing properly. If we don't do something now, we run the risk of losing her forever." Beast Boy sighs. He had hoped that it would not come to this. Raven puts her hand on his shoulder, sensing his emotional pain.

"You have to do it, Gar." She comforts him, her dark eyes staring at him. "It's the only way you can save her."

"But she could die, and I really don't want to have that on my conscious. Raven, you're the only one who knows her as well as I do. Why isn't there another way?" Beast Boy asks, staring at Terra. Her skin is pale; her breathing shallow. He curses Trigon for doing this to her; though he curses himself for loving her. If he did not love her, and she did not love him, she would not be here, and she wouldn't be fighting for her very soul against a demon. He shudders; the arm wrapped around his neck is growing colder by the second. He wraps his arms around her in a loving embrace, but her soul is already gone. 

It exists on another plane - a torturous one of pain and hellfire. She resides on a stone above a pool of lava. She attempts to clear her mind, but is frightened at the prospect that she might find something that she does not want to. She remembers those key words that Raven had told her; that none of this is real. Knowing the risk, she places her finger into the lava. It is cold, like... water. She dives in, hoping and wishing that she survives -

And wakes up, water soaking her face and her clothes. She finds herself lying under the tap in the bathtub, water rushing out and running off her face and hair. She gasps for air; her lungs ache, and her stomach feels sick. She reaches up and turns off the water, and she grabs a towel from the air. She dries herself off, then looks up to see Beast Boy, staring down at her.

"It's alright now, Tara." He comforts her, smiling.

"What happened?" She asks, drying her hair.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, you should get some sleep."

"Why can't you ever tell me anything at the moment I want to know it?" Terra replies, hostilely. Beast Boy just stares at her. "Well?" Beast Boy just continues to stare. Terra stands up and storms out of the room. Beast Boy just stares at where she just stood. He tries to make sense of what just happened. He decides on the most likely situation and turns it over in his head.

"Raven!" He yells, quickly exiting the room. Raven meets him in the hallway. "Terra's not herself. I think she might still be... well, possessed."

"It's unlikely, but it's still possible." Raven replies. "Is there anything that happened to support your claim?"

"She was acting abrasive."

"Kind of like what happened to you?"

"Yeah... kind of like what happened to me."

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know, but probably in her room."

"Well, if it is true, and she still is possessed by Trigon, she'll be extremely hostile, and she'll try to make use of her powers to her powers to their full potential, but Trigon does realize that by possessing her, he's only as strong as..."

"A fourteen year old girl."

"Exactly. Trigon doesn't pose much of a risk inside of her, but if we can get him out and Terra still acts the way she does, then he might have gotten to her."

"So, then what do we do?"

"We'll have to drug her."

"No, not again..."

"Look, Gar. You had no problems with using a potentially lethal poison on her. Why should drugs be any different?"

"Because I diluted the poison, and just because I did it doesn't mean that I don't have any regrets." Raven sighs.

"You know, you can be pretty stubborn."

"It's who I am." Beast Boy looks past Raven's shoulder, down the hallway. He thought he had heard something, but apparently, everything was alright. "Look, Raven, I know what you're trying to do, but... well, Tara's not exactly the most calm and emotionless person. You know how passionate she can get about things. We're all different. To stop Trigon, we can't all be like you."

"I know."

"So let me go in there and talk to her. If anything bad happens, I'll give the signal."

"What signal?"

"You'll know it when you hear it." Raven steps aside, and Beast Boy walks past her. For a split second, they both are thinking the same thing: what if Terra can't be saved? They both push the thought from their minds, and are filled up with remorse. A solitary tear rolls down Beast Boy's cheek as he knocks on the door to Terra's room. "Tara? Tara, are you in there?" He waits for a response, but there is none. He opens the door, and he sees her. She is lying on her bed face-up, head in her hands. The only noise in the room is the whirring of the ceiling fan. He begins to move towards her, walking as slowly as he can, as if not to alarm her.

"What's wrong with me, Gar?" Terra asks, breaking the silence. "What's wrong with me?"

"Tara, I..."

"I tried to fight him, but he was too powerful. He pushed my consciousness aside like it was nothing."

"You can still fight him. You can win."

"It's too late."

"Tara, it's never too late." Terra looks up at Beast Boy, tears starting to run down her cheeks.

"It's never too late..." Tara reaches up and hugs Beast Boy, beginning to sob. Beast Boy holds her tightly and pats her on the back.

"It's going to be all right. Things will be just like before. You won't have to worry about anything. Not anymore. I promise, Tara."

"How can we get him out?"

"Be strong." A voice answers. They both look over to see Raven standing in the doorway. "Don't be angry. Don't be scared. You'll be alright." Terra nods. "Get some rest. You'll need it."

"But what if..."

"He can't take over when you sleep. Come on, Gar." Beast Boy hugs Terra, then gets up and walks through the door. He stops and turns around.  
"I love you, Tara."

"I love you too, Gar." Beast Boy closes the door. Terra sits up and rubs her head. It hurts. She looks over at her clock; ten O'clock. She starts to feel drained all of a sudden. She puts her head back down on her pillow and closes her eyes. Overhead, the ceiling fan whirrs, parting the air, and this sound brings her to sleep. Outside the door, Beast Boy and Raven watch, then slowly close it, as not to make a noise.

"Well, it's been an interesting night, wouldn't you say?" Raven asks. Beast Boy nods.

"Definitely. The night's nowhere near over, though." As soon as Beast Boy finishes saying this, the alarm goes off, spreading through Titans tower like a contagious disease. Beast Boy looks at the door to Terra's room.

"She can't hear anything." Raven assures him. "Vic blocked it out. Come on." Raven grabs Beast Boy by the arm, and they both run towards the main area of the tower. When they get there, Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Superboy and Supergirl are waiting for them.

"Now that the team's all here, what's the problem?" Superboy asks.

"It's... impossible." Robin replies, furiously tying away on a keyboard. "He's back"

"Slade? We know that." Wonder Girl answers.

"No, not him. Brother Blood."

"Blood's back? I thought I put him away!" Cyborg replies, a small intonation of frustration in his voice.

"Calm down, Vic. Though we do not know how he was able to escape, I am confident that we will be able to catch him again." Starfire comforts him.

"Titans, move out!" Robin yells, and they all head towards the entrance. Beast Boy watches them go. Raven and Robin notice that he's not coming, and turn around.

"Gar, come on!" Robin orders.

"I'm not going." Beast Boy replies.

"Why not?" Raven questions.

"I have to stay with her."

"Gar, she's asleep. She'll be fine." Robin comforts him.

"No, I have to stay. You guys go chase down Blood. Don't you remember what happened the last time we left her alone here?" Raven and Robin did, all too well, in fact. "Besides, Vic was able to put down Blood single-handedly. Me staying here won't change a thing." Robin can see the sincerity in his eyes.

"Alright, I'll allow it, but just this once."

"Good luck, Dick." Raven and Robin run to catch up to the rest of the team. Beast Boy sighs, and makes his way down the opposite hallway. He didn't think that she deserved this. He scoffed at the notion of fate and luck. After all, what had either gotten him? They had gotten his parents killed, him stuck with an incurable disease that lead to him originally getting his powers. He reaches her room, but rather than knocking, he just enters. He finds her asleep on her bed, curled up and facing the window. He can hear her breathing; slow and shallow. He slowly moves over to her, trying as hard as he can not to make any noise. He comes face-to-face with her, and brushes her hair out of her eyes. She moans slightly, and he kisses her on the cheek. She grabs his arm, and he is no longer in the room.

"Tara!" He yells, not knowing where she is.

"Gar, I'm over here!" She yells back. He stumbles in the darkness, following her voice, trying to find her.

"Tara, what's going on!" He shouts.

"I have no idea! I was asleep, and then I just ended up here! Keep yelling, I'll try to find you!" There is a whirring noise, and lights turn on overhead, temporarily blinding both of them. Their eyes adjust, and find that they are close to each other. It appears that they are in a warehouse; boxes are stacked high, and conveyer belts litter the ground. There is a sputtering noise, and everything instantaneously catches fire. "Don't be afraid, Gar. It isn't real."

"How can you tell?"

"I just know, okay? Try your communicator." Beast Boy opens it up, but all he can hear is static.

"Hello? Hello, is anyone there!" Beast Boy sighs and goes to close it, but then they both hear a familiar voice.

"Gar? Gar, where are you? The reception's horrible."

"Vic, can you transfer me to Raven?"

"She's a little tied up at the moment, but... just hang on." Cyborg replies, practically screaming. Though he is, Beast Boy and Terra still find it hard to hear him over the static.

"Gar? What's wrong?" Another voice replies. In the background, Beast Boy can hear the sounds of a battle raging on.

"Rae, it's me. We're trapped inside a vision. How do we get out?" Terra screams into the communicator.

"Find some water. Water is a conduit!" Raven replies, having to raise her own voice. Beast Boy and Terra look around; no water in sight.

"Thanks, Rae! Over and out!" Terra yells, and shuts the communicator. "Well, Gar, let's find some water."

"I think there is none to find." A voice calls from overhead. Beast Boy and Terra look up.

"Slade... how the fuck did you get in here!" Terra screams at him, before enveloping her hands in a yellow aura and causing a section of the ceiling to fall. Slade moves, and leaps some fifty feet down to where Beast Boy and Terra are standing.

"Oh, come now children, I just want to talk. There's a demon in your mind, true, but an even greater one in your heart."

"What are you saying?" Terra asks, stepping backwards, a bit of fear, a certain solemn tone beginning to show in her voice.

"Love is such a human emotion, Tara. Join me and my master, and we could give you everything that you ever wanted. Riches. Power. Incorruptable friends..."

"No, Slade, I've had it with you! You can take your deal and shove it up your ass!" Terra replies hostilely. Beast Boy wonders if Terra's just being Terra, or if the demon has already started to take over.

"Tara, cool it. Calm down. You don't want to let..."

"Let what, Garfield? Let the demon out? Let the monster out? You already know a fair bit about that, don't you?" Slade replies coolly. Terra clutches her head, a look of extreme pain on her face. She thinks it hurts, it hurts so badly. She wonders what's causing it. "By the looks of things, it's already started to happen." Slade laughs, then places an open-palmed hand on Terra's neck. There is a burning sound, and she screams in pain. Slade pulls his hand away, and she falls to the floor. "We'll be in touch, Tara." Slade vanishes in a burst of flame. Beast Boy stoops down to check on Terra, and finds, to his horror, what he had never hoped to see on her skin: Slade has burned a rune onto her neck. Just like the ones Raven has. He hears a bird, and the room is suddenly enveloped in darkness. Despite his best attempts to fight it, Beast Boy slips into unconsciousness.

"They are coming back." Beast Boy opens his eyes, and sees Starfire looming over him, smile on her face.

"Kory... where's Tara? Where's Raven?"

"I'm right here, Gar." Raven steps out from behind Starfire. Beast Boy reaches up... and grabs Terra's arm.

"Man, my spine is killing me. What time is it?"

"It is a quarter after eleven. You have been unconscious for a while."

"What about Blood?"

"Vic was able to take care of him. Now, after the wild night I'm sure you've had, I recommend that you get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day."

"Tuesday? What's going on?" Beast Boy asks.

"It's the day we save Tara's soul."


	4. Born Like This

There is darkness. Terra opens her eyes, and is surprised to see that the sun is shining, streaming through her bedroom window and onto her bed, warming her feet. She tries to sit up, but she cannot. She begins to panic - after all, wasn't this the same thing that happened in her dream, not three days ago? She hears a high-pitched beeping noise, but she cannot determine where it is coming from. If only she could sit up; if only she could move her head, then maybe she would better understand what exactly was going on. She tries to calm herself down; regulate her breathing, slow her heart, and succeeds. She actually thinks that it feels kind of nice, warming her feet while lounging around in bed at whatever hour it is. It's something that she used to enjoy every chance she got, but that was a long while ago, and she's grown accustomed to living off the land. Well, she had, before all of this mess happened. She hears a knock on the door, and it slides open. Cyborg stands in the doorway, smiling, the sun gleaming off his metallic parts like a lens flare in a picture. "How'd you sleep?" He asks.

"Alright, I guess." Terra responds. "I should have woken up at six after six. Why didn't I..."

"Raven told me about what happened. I had a mild sedative and a muscle relaxant running through your bloodstream."

"Where is everyone?"

"They're here. Can't move, can you?" Terra shakes her head. "It'll wear off. There's breakfast out here if you want it."

"I'll be out in a few minutes." Terra says, yawning. Cyborg nods, and closes the door. She thought that it was really sweet of him - not only him, everyone - to check on her and see if she was alright. They were all that she had. She tried to think, but found that there was something blocking her mind. She shrugged it off, and she began to gain the feeling back in her arms in legs. Suddenly, there was a shooting pain up her back, and it was so intense she fell backwards onto her pillow. She was glad that it wasn't as bad as what she had gone through before, but it had still hurt a fair amount. She knew that she would be all right. Raven had promised her, and after all, didn't Raven keep all of her promises? 

"Alright, Tara, now I need you to breathe in, slowly." Terra complies. Cyborg and Raven were running a medical exam; well, not an exam, a checkup, if you will, to see if there were any ill effects from the medication Terra had taken over the night. "That's good, now breathe out. Great. How's the blood working coming, Rae?"

"It checks out. She's fine." Raven replies, toiling over a monitor.

"What about her back?"

"She pinched a few nerves. It'll be alright." Terra sighs. It was a sigh of relief, but she still had no idea what was going on. All she knew about anything was that Trigon was evil, and if she wasn't careful, she would be his puppet. She sighs again, this time in sadness. There were a great deal of things she had been insecure about, but she had hoped that this wasn't one of them. She knew nothing about her fate, but if what Raven had once said to her, and if what she had seen was true, then she knew only one thing - that Trigon could bring around the end of the world, and he was going to try and use her some way to attain that goal. She shudders. It was like revisting a past memory, one full of pain and hate and anguish. She was still just a kid, not even a girl of fifteen, and she questioned why she felt the way she did. Would things have been any different without her powers? She didn't think so.

"Tara? Hello, anyone home?" Cyborg asks, snapping her back to reality. She was so deep in thought she failed to notice that they had finished.

"Sorry, Vic. I just have a lot to think about." Raven nods. Somehow, Raven understood, but there was a deep pain inside Terra, a strong emotional pain, and she had no idea how she was going to get it out. She wonders if anyone else knew her pain, and then quickly thought that they did. They had all lost their parents. Well, most of them had, at least. They had grown up strong, and Terra was sure they had done their parents proud. Terra then felt something hard to describe; like a block in her mind, removing all conscious thought. She struggles to think through it, and succeeds somewhat, but her thoughts are faint, almost distant. Her vision begins to cloud over and she begins to lose focus. Her vision comes back almost immediately, but the block is still there.

"What the hell is going on here?" Cyborg asks, biwildered. Meters were fluctuating, and a series of rapid beeps could be heard to everyone except Terra, who couldn't hear anything over the steady, rhythmic beating of her pulse. She suddenly feels a bit faint, and forces herself to stay awake, though she knows it is only a matter of time. Raven brings herself face-to-face with Terra, Terra's sharp blue eyes staring back at her, sadly, but almost hypnotically.

"Tara, what's wrong?" Raven asks, loudly but almost comfortingly. Terra was able to hear her, even though her pulse and heartbeat resonated through her body, beating in time with one another.

"Rae, I don't feel so good. I think I'm gonna faint." Terra replies, sounding almost tired. Raven pushes the thought from her mind; Terra had a great sleep, and hell, she had been asleep for ten hours. The drugs had really helped, and there was nothing wrong with her. Well, at least nothing that the drugs had caused.

"Raven, I know what the problem is." Cyborg informs her. "Blood sugar. Really low."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Raven asks. "I should have known that." Terra reaches up and shakily put her hand on Raven's shoulder. There is a burning sensation in Terra's chest now, like something was trying to push its way out from the inside.

"Rae, you're great." Terra comforts, then closes her eyes. They flash open as Terra wills herself on. She tells herself that she couldn't fall asleep; she would fight it as long as she could. She couldn't let Trigon come after her, even in her dreams. She thought that Trigon was practically a modern-day Freddy Kruger, and she would have laughed if she could. "I would have died if not for you." Raven smiles. She knows that Terra is right, and feels a certain pride. She was one of the people who helped to save the life of a confused 14-year old girl. She did wonder, however, if Terra had aged any while she was stuck in that stone prison? Raven quickly made a decision; yes, she did believe so. Terra was alive, but only in a coma, but that was a long time ago.

"How?" Raven asks, turning her mind away from her thoughts and addressing Cyborg. "We just checked it when we started this. It was full."

"That's what I'm going to try to find out." Cyborg replies, and goes back to staring at several monitors. "Trigon can't suck the life out of people, can he?"

"I don't think so." Raven responds. For Raven, the phrase "I don't think so" was a way of her saying that she didn't have the slightest clue, at least when it came to Trigon. She hears a loud buzzing sound, and turns around, towards Terra. Terra's out cold. Raven turns back to Cyborg. "What did you do?"

"I gave her ten thousand volts. I couldn't stand to see her suffer." Raven knows this was very true; Cyborg is a very kind and warm-hearted person. He wouldn't do anything unless he absolutely had to. "She was shaking pretty badly. Her body temperature dropped to 92.7 degrees. She was going to get sick if I didn't do something." Raven hopes that they won't have to do what they did before. Not only for Terra, but for Beast Boy, as well.

"We can't carry on with what we did the last time we faced a problem like this. Trigon can control consciousness, which translates to Tara being screwed, but we can't give up hope. We can't keep her under, drugged up or asleep all the time. Gar would be furious."

"I guess you're right, but let me try to talk to him. I'm his best friend." Cyborg replies. He knows that he has to do something, but he's not sure what. He's not entirely sure what Trigon is capable of, but he does know one thing: the love of his friends life could be destroyed, and that's something that he doesn't want on his conscious.

"I can't accept that."

"It could save her life. Damnit, Gar, why are you so stubborn?"

"Because she matters to me more than she matters to any of you." Cyborg had managed to get Beast Boy talking about the possibility, though Beast Boy was fighting Cyborg every step of the way. Cyborg scratches his head with his hand. "We have a special link, a connection, and it's something I wouldn't train for the world. There are no others like her, and I would confess my love from the rooftops so the whole world would know."

"Gar, you're getting a little too thespian there." Cyborg replies.

"Sorry, but what I'm saying is true. Please, Vic. Don't do this." Beast Boy holds his head in his hands, then looks at Cyborg. Tears are welling up in his eyes, and Cyborg knows that whenever Beast Boy is about to cry, he's truly passionate about the circumstances.

"Alright, man, I'll make you a deal. I'll leave her as is for the present, but we're going to have to come to a decision, and I know you love her, but we're not going to have to do what's best for your relationship. We're going to do what's best for Tara. She's part of the team, and a little bit of everyone's responsibility."

"Why is she, though? Why does all this bad stuff keep happening to her? Why not me?" Cyborg pats Beast Boy on the back.

"Now that, Gar, is something that even I don't know." Cyborg gets up to leave. For a single moment, he thinks of what will happen if the worst does occur, and it's not a pretty thought. Terra strapped to a table, motionless, wires running through her body, her heart stopped. Cyborg shudders. It's something that he hopes he will never have to see. He decides that he won't tell Gar. It would break his heart.

Terra opens her eyes. Her head is pounding, and she thinks she can faintly smell her own burning flesh. She shakes it off and clutches her head, which is pounding, resulting in a massive amount of pain. She compairs this headache to what she went through before with Slade, and jokingly tells herself that what she's feeling right now is probably worse. She knows the real answer, though, and it was a hell that she hopes never to relive. However, what's she's in now, with Trigon, this is far worse, or at least everyone else thinks so. Terra looks at it as just another obsticle to overcome. She looks at the clock; 17 after 2. She tells herself that everyone's probably out. She should be out with them, having fun. She shivers. The air in the room became cold all of a sudden. She tells herself that with her life, it's just one weird thing after another. She stumbles into the living room, wiping sleep from her eyes and yawning. She is surprised to see that there is someone there. "How was your sleep, Tara? Anything strange?" It's Starfire. Kind, good-natured, well-meaning Starfire.

"No, Kory, nothing strange." Terra sits down on the couch next to Starfire. "Not this time, at least."

"The others have gone out, so it is just us for the time being. What do you wish to do?"

"Is there any coffee?"

"I believe that there may be some on the counter, but if not I could always call Dick on his cellular phone."

"I'll check. Thanks, Kory." Starfire smiles at Terra, a big grin. It was almost like nothing could get Starfire down. Her spirits were high all the time. Terra walks over to the counter and finds some coffee. She wonders what it would be like to not be Terra, and just be young, happy Tara Markov. To be normal. She pours herself a cup and returns to the couch.

"What's on your mind, Tara?" Starfire asks. Terra stares into her cup, looking solemn.

"Nothing important."

"I do not know what it is like to be... depressed. Can you explain it to me?" Terra looks at Starfire. Why would Starfire want to know? Pain is all it ever is.

"It hurts. A lot. Some days, you don't think you're going to make it, but then do you, and you're not happy or sad or angry about it. You just don't feel anything."

"That sounds horrible. If it is possible, I hope you can overcome it."

"So do I, Kory. So do I."

"Tara, you're shivering." Terra hadn't noticed this until Starfire said it. Terra began to think that she was cold. No, not only cold, freezing. Dear God, she was going to die of hypothermia or something, an unexplainable death that everyone would mourn and yet no one would know the details behind. Terra would then be gone, and the rest could keep on fighting and living, unexplainably. Terra knew that there was a fancy latin term for it, and she begin to remember. Deux ex machina. The god in the machine that would make everything alright, for everyone else, but not for her. Terra feels something warm around her shoulders, and looks up at Starfire, who had draped a blanket over her shoulders.

"Thanks, Kory." Starfire grins.

"Do not worry, Tara. I do not know what it is like, but I am sure that you will be able to overcome it, just as you came over the nerve-controlling... oh, I am sorry." Starfire remembered that Terra did not like to be reminded of her past. She had too many painful memories, and to be honest, who could blame her? She was a spy and a puppet, and just thinking of that was rather disheartening.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Nothing matters to me anymore."

"Perhaps things - good things, like happy memories - would matter if we all went out tonight? Not as the Teen Titans, just as friends?" Terra mulled this over. She realized that in all the time that she had been with the team, she had never just hung out with them. It was one step closer to being normal that she would gladly take.

"Sounds fun. What time?"


End file.
